JSE retreats as US-China trade talks stall

Musa Makoni, GT247.com

Share

(File, AP)

The lack of progress with the US-China trade talks further
heightened investors’ concerns on Friday which led to most global stock indices
trading weaker.

Adding to the economic growth concerns flagged by the
European Union on Thursday, skepticism spread as US President Donald Trump said
that he did not plan to meet his Chinese counterpart before the March 1st
deadline set for a trade resolution. This new development lengthens the period
of uncertainty before concrete
resolution is reached.

The JSE was not spared from the losses as most of the
bourse’s heavyweights traded under pressure.

Sasol [JSE:SOL] had the biggest loss amongst the blue chips
as it fell 6.5% to close at R384.78. This was after the company issued a
trading statement indicating the Lake Charles Chemical Project in the US had
been delayed and would incur additional capital expenditure.

Blue Label Telecoms [JSE:BLU] fell 4.65% to close at R4.31,
while Brait [JSE:BAT] lost 3.06% to end the day at R27.53. Rhodes Food Group
[JSE:RFG] struggled significantly eventually closing the day 7.39% lower at
R16.16. Cement maker PPC Limited [JSE:PPC] dropped 5.76% to close at R5.40,
while KAP Industrial Holdings [JSE:KAP] lost 3.25% to close at R8.34.

Sibanye-Stillwater [JSE:SGL] continues to surge as it
rallied 8.06% to close at R14.21 to finish amongst the day’s biggest gainers.
Lonmin [JSE:LON] recorded similar gains as it climbed 8% to end the day at
R11.74. The surge in palladium metal prices saw the majority of its miners
record gains on the day.

The JSE All-Share index closed 1.19% weaker while the JSE
Top-40 index lost 1.41%. All the major indices closed in the red once more. The
resources index fell 1.97%, industrials lost 1.36% and financials dropped
1.35%.

After managing minor gains during the day’s session, the
rand retreated to trade flat at R13.62/$ at 17:00.

Brent crude recovered from an earlier slump to trade 0.67%
firmer at $62.04/barrel just after the JSE close.

At 17:00, gold was up 0.34% at $1314.51/Oz, platinum had gained
0.25% to trade at $800.22/Oz, and palladium was trading 1.15% firmer at
$1401.97/Oz.

Bitcoin was 1.79% at $3512.90/coin, while Ethereum had
gained 4.73% to trade at $111.10/coin.